Movie: 'Ralph' animator brings Disney magic to life

Jody Feinberg The Patriot Ledger

Saturday

Nov 17, 2018 at 3:02 AM

When animator Darrin Butters learned that he would work on the new Disney film “Ralph Breaks the Internet,” he was thrilled that Ralph would have a second adventure. Butters, a 22-year Disney animator, had fallen for the lovable, bumbling video game character and his accomplished, funny car racer pal Vanellope von Schweetz.

“We work on the characters in such detail and for so long that we get attached to them,” said Butters, who is looking forward to the film opening Nov. 21. Butters was in Boston at the Eliot Hotel earlier this month to discuss the movie and being an animator. In addition to the "Wreck-It Ralph"movies, Butters has also done animation for "Frozen," "Big Hero 6," "Moana," "Zootopia," among others. As one of scores of character animators, Butters said he is like a puppeteer, who controls the movements of characters in a scene, down to blinking eyes.

“We could keep working on it forever to perfect it, but the goal is to make the characters believable, to convey their emotions, and to keep the audience’s attention,” Butters said.

Although the Internet is the setting, the story is about the challenges of friendship when two buddies – one confident and the other insecure - have different desires and needs.

“We’re exploring the reality of all relationships, which come with ups and downs,” said co-writer and director Phil Johnston in the press materials. “Friendships are tested from time to time, and Ralph and Vanellope have to navigate the complexity of theirs – while attempting to navigate the vast and often intimidating Internet.”

Building on the 2012 huge box-office hit of “Wreck-It Ralph,” the film has the same creative team, and John C. Reilly and Sarah Silverman again are the voices of Ralph and Vanellope. Johnston co-wrote the script with Pamela Ribon and shares directing duties with Rich Moore. The film won five AnnieAwards, including best animated feature, director, screenplay and actor, the Kids’ Choice Award for favorite animated movie, and it received best animation nominations for the Oscar and Golden Globe Awards.

In the story, Ralph and Vanellope leave the familiarity of Litwak’s arcade and enter the Internet in search of a steering wheel to repair Vanellope’s favorite video game, which is available only on eBay. Like other travelers to a foreign land, they have a number of comic, exciting and even frightening encounters. Ralph is overwhelmed and wants to return to Litwak’s as soon as possible, but Vanellope is enamored and welcomes the exciting challenge of competing against super-charged, gritty racer Shank, voiced by Gal Gadot. Unable to accept that his best friend chooses to stay in the Internet, Ralph goes to the Dark Net to insert a virus to slow the game down, which nearly destroys Vanellope and the Internet.

At the emotionally charged climax, disaster is avoided and Ralph learns some important lessons about being independent and allowing a friend to follow a dream, Venellope learns about forgiveness and empowerment, and the two find a way to be close despite the distance between them.

“At Disney, we like to make people cry,” Butters said, joking.

The film’s creators set the action in the Internet, animated as a bustling, crowded, colorful city of skyscrapers filled with Netizens, because it is both a metaphor and a new world to conceive in animation.

“Two best friends are about to realize that the world won’t always be the same,” said producer Clark Spencer in a press statement. “The internet is the perfect setting, really, because it’s all about change – things change by the second.”

In this imaginary world, the signposts are universally recognized – Amazon, Google and other major sites – and concepts take human form. Yesss, voiced by Taraji P. Henson, is a fashionable businesswoman who is the head algorithm and helps Ralph become a viral sensation on BuzzzTube to raise money to purchase the steering wheel. KnowsMore, voiced by Alan Tudyk, is a rotund, bespectacled professor who is a search engine. Double Dan, voiced by Alfred Molina, is a grotesque slug-like blob in the Dark Net who controls viruses. They share the Internet with scores of other new and familiar characters from online games, as well as Internet residents, like P. Spamley, a relentless salesman – animated in many scenes by Butters - who offers the friends options for raising money, after they bid 27,000 on the steering wheel without realizing that number represented money.

“Spamley is a desperate salesman,” said animation supervisor Robert Huth in the press material. “He’s a little anxious and fidgety. He has a lot of pent-up energy, but he’s not a bad dude.”

And in a first, the film places in one room all the Disney princesses - with their original voices - in a scene that both celebrates and pokes fun at the characters. Co-writer Ribon wanted to show that Vanellope is a different kind of princess, who hasn’t been mistreated or imprisoned and doesn’t need a man as she discovers what is meaningful to her.

“Vanellope is technically a princess, but hasn’t really been included among Disney royalty,” said Ribon in the press material. “Who wouldn’t want the Hoodie Princess in there? That’s my princess! I loved the idea of getting her into that club.”

Reach Jody Feinberg at jfeinberg@patriotledger.com. Follow her on Twitter@JodyF_Ledger.